Planurile ratate ale Antantei pentru cucerirea orașului Mosul in Primul Război Mondial (a doua parte a anului 1916 – sfarșitul anului 1917)
The Entente’s Failed Plans to Capture Mosul during the First World War (the Second Half of 1916 to the End of 1917)

Summary/Abstract: The participation of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War opened new battlefronts in both Europe and Asia. The main opponents of the Ottomans were the British (Egypt-Syria, Mesopotamia) and the Russians (the Caucasus). While the British fought to defend the communication routes with India, blocking the Ottomans’ access to the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf, the Russians attacked the Ottomans in the Caucasus and maintained control over Persia. The situation changed considerably in 1915, as the Germans sought to draw Persia into the war on their side and subsequently to co-opt Afghanistan in a possible attack on India, the jewel in the British crown. These plans were thwarted by Russia and Britain, which occupied Persia and prevented the Germans from entering the country. After the British disaster at Kut al-Amara (April 1916), the Russians and the British concluded that a blow leading to the capture of the city of Mosul could cause the collapse of the entire Ottoman front from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia. The fall of Mosul to the Entente would have dealt a heavy blow to the Ottoman Empire and its German allies. The objective pursued by the Anglo-Russians was the rapid withdrawal of the Ottomans from the war. For certain reasons, discussed in this article, Mosul was not captured by the Entente in 1916 or 1917. The city remained under Ottoman control until the end of 1918, when it was occupied, after heavy fighting, by the British.

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